Original subtitles

She's the most beautiful baby I've ever seen.

Absolutely beautiful.

I cracked the book on the Merritt case.

Talk about tragic.

They don't get any sleazier or higher profile.

Anything behind the scenes?

Dead in the water.

After a year, it's still unsolved.

Newark office is consulting with a local PD off the record. Now D .C. wants our

recommendation. Get out of it now or go after it with a full court press.

Good morning.

Good morning. George? Morning.

And away we go.

February 3rd, 1997.

Melissa Merritt was found dead in her home. She was 18.

Public opinion was that Teston, her father, killed her. It was assumed that

mother, Rhonda Merritt, was an accomplice after the fact. From what I

they retained a brown shoe attorney out of Philly.

What was his name?

Ernst Galloway.

Galloway. As a matter of fact, they didn't ask him. He volunteered.

Family had already made some statements to the police, but Galloway has had them

on a strict diet of silence.

I'd be a good lawyer. I'm going to make them look guilty.

Rhonda Merritt claims she found Melissa with a wet pillowcase over her head,

seated at the vanity, naked.

Any confirmation?

Nothing is inconsistent with that. A stunning blow to the forehead with a

object, maybe a blackjack or sap. It disabled her while the killer put the

pillowcase on top. Also, the bruising on her neck might have occurred when he

pulled the pillowcase tight.

Let's set the stage in the community.

Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Population 14 ,000. Average per capita incomes in the

top three percentile for the nation.

The Merritts moved there in 1995. Above their mains, they're considered

upstarts, social climbers.

Maybe they thought a chic address would help their daughter's career.

Beauty patches for little girls.

Since Melissa started at age six, Melissa Merritt had totaled over $100

prize money as an amateur, plus loads of loot, makeup, jet skis. That's an

amateur? That's not even a big time.

That's where she was headed. She was favored to win the Miss Republic contest

Atlantic City, but she dropped out during rehearsals. She had a rival from

Sears, New Jersey, Trish Lambert. I'm going to try to get in touch with her. I

heard that Melissa was going public, that her father was guilty of incest.

Here's St. Rice.

Doesn't mean it's not true.

Basking Ridge pays top dollar for its police force. They've imported a big

cop named Adler to run it. I'm going to talk to him.

All right, let's get to work.

Okay.

To be honest, I don't need the FBI getting in my case.

Look, it's no secret the Bureau's been heavy -handed with local law enforcement

in the past.

But the past is the past.

Nowadays, we're looking for co -jurisdiction. We're here to assist, not

on anyone's toes.

Look, every newsie in the Western Hemisphere is in town.

They're planning a justice vigil for Saturday. You know, people, candles,

It's been a year. They want an arrest.

I'm putting on some extra people.

Well, let's hope together we can give them some headlines.

Well, you're welcome to the evidence, such as it is.

Date book, snapshots.

Wouldn't even fill up a shoebox.

Anything useful?

No, I've been through it all. There's nothing there.

A few weeks before the murder, there were some complaints about a peeping Tom

that area. Two, for Melissa herself.

We picked up a couple of peeping Toms that fit the description that Melissa

us. They didn't check out.

The French doors were locked below.

There was no forcible entry, no window was left open, and the attic wasn't

breached. Now you tell me, how does a peeping Tom get in, kill her, and get

unless he's got a key?

You mind if we take a run at your peeper suspects?

Be my guest.

You're in for a treat.

I wouldn't characterize it in that way.

That about do it in here for you?

And I've advised my clients not to answer any questions pertaining to the

pending matter.

Dr. Waters.

First, let me tell both of you how sorry I am for your loss.

I have a daughter myself, and I can only imagine your grief.

Thank you. Don't reply, Rhonda.

We've already stepped right into the murder proper, so we're breaking the

rules. I was offering my condolences. I wasn't asking a question.

Turn that thing off.

A reply was implicit.

No questions on the case means just that.

Can you tell me about your daughter?

What was she like as a child?

Oh, she was a very bright child.

Melissa was walking by nine months, wasn't she, Doug?

What about talking? Was she... Singing.

She started singing first.

It's like a little tune that she made up.

I wish you could have known, Melissa.

Everyone was struck by her beauty.

That's my favorite.

And she was quite precocious.

Extremely intelligent.

She didn't have much tolerance for kids her own age.

Sort of good she didn't have many friends.

We didn't encourage it.

Because of Melissa's looks, her success, other kids would get jealous.

Truth be told, she preferred the company of adults.

Anyway, we were each other's best friends.

I would like to read to you something that you said in your statement to

the police.

No, that's out of the question.

It's on the record.

They're Rhonda's own words. I'm not asking a question.

I came in after I heard the noise.

She was at her vanity with no clothes on and a wet pillowcase over her head.

It was smeared with makeup.

It was mocking her.

Okay, we're off limits, Rhonda. I couldn't stand it.

All I could do was make her look the way I knew she'd want to look.

She never slept.

Without one of her pretty nightgowns that I made her.

I cleaned her up.

I dragged her.

And I moved her.

Okay, we're off limits.

You want to give her back her dignity?

She was calling for her mama.

But I couldn't hear.

Are you saying you've been a voyeur since you were a child?

Oh, yes.

I have memories that go back to age two.

Babysitters, female neighbors.

Good stuff, you know.

Keyholes. How long have you lived in Basking Ridge?

Less than a year.

I can never stay anywhere too long.

People just won't leave me alone.

For what?

I mean, what's the hurt?

You think what you do is harmless?

I like to see what's underneath.

What do you mean?

Underwear.

You know.

Sometimes they're not as pretty as you think they'd be.

Sometimes they're tattered.

You ever spy on Melissa Merritt?

A friend of mine told me that she lived nearby.

She was something to see, you know.

Teen beauty queen and all.

Real firm and pert.

But me?

I like them a little bit more mature.

Retired's good.

Liver spots are better.

So you've heard of Melissa Merritt?

Sure.

She's a real celeb around here.

Ever go to her place? Have a look?

I didn't have to.

I met her once at a grocery store.

Bumped my card into hers.

Tried to talk to her, say hello.

Wasn't easy because I'm shy.

Anyway, she was a real bitch to me.

Did that make you angry?

No.

It just reminded me of something I already knew about females.

What was that?

That I prefer them from a distance.

Miss Lambert.

My name is Melissa Waters. I'm with the FBI. We spoke on the phone.

Call me Trish.

I'd like to ask you a few questions about Melissa Merritt.

That's right.

Did Melissa seem burned out to you right before the time of her death?

Not really. I guess she was stressed, lost focus.

And believe me, when you do that at this level, you're sunk.

You competed against her for about, what, ten years?

Listen, Melissa and I weren't friends, but we've been together so long and get

to know each other.

So when she told me she was dropping out last year, I was stunned.

I mean, this is the payoff for all those stupid contests. Mr. Public would have

put her whole family on the gravy train.

Yeah, did she ever mention having any trouble with her parents?

Everybody knows her dad was getting it on with her.

come on why did they move the body and why won't they talk to the police it's

obvious they killed her can i go i have to mingle thank you very much

Your ice cream's arrived.

Hey.

Where is everybody?

I thought you were having friends over. Things broke up a little early.

Well, why? Did something happen?

This wasn't an emoji play, that's all.

But you've been talking about this for so long, you weren't going to have such

good time.

Not everyone was having fun, Mom.

Sissy Compton had a party today also.

And Caitlin listened to Lisa Carson at her party instead of mine.

That just means more ice cream for us.

But Kate and Felicia are the two popular girls at school.

I want them at my party.

I'm sorry.

I'm going to bed.

Hello.

Sorry to call so late, Sam.

Another woman's been murdered.

Name's James Schooley.

Huh.

The victim's bandit came to town for the justice march this weekend.

One of the members told me that she often got despised after a gig, so she

decided to stay late by herself to write.

The cleaning crew, they came in, didn't see anybody, not a peep.

They just found the body here on the dressing room.

This is exactly the way Rhonda Merritt said she found her daughter.

Maybe the Merritts did her too.

Wouldn't be the first time a killer did it again just to confuse the case.

No one's close to pinning anything on them except obstruction.

Even so, we can't rule them out.

The ME's prelim says a blow to the head, another match to Melissa. I don't

remember any info about a head wound ever leaking into the press.

Never has.

Pillow case that may go... Thanks. None of it. All sealed.

No, it's the same killer or killers.

But why would they go after a girl who just got into town?

Actually, she lives here.

Keeps an apartment, but her band's been on the road. They played this club six

months ago, and they just came back to play for the Justice Rally. She was so

cold in 9 -1 -1 complaints about a prowler.

I'll have Adler pull the complaints.

Okay, so no forced windows or doors or locked.

No holes in the ceiling or floor.

What kind of deity are we dealing with here?

Both Jane and Melissa are about the same age, same size, shape, both have brown

hair. He seeks out beauty and then depersonalizes it when he kills them

pillowcase. So now the question is, did he know them both?

Did Melissa know a Jane Liz Cooley?

I've never heard that name.

Can you account for your whereabouts last night?

Before we answer, what's the drift?

Are my clients also suspects in the Liz Cooley murder?

We think that the person who killed your daughter...

killed Jamis Scrooge. It's a line of inquiry we can't ignore.

We were at home, alone.

No, Rhonda, stop.

We are not volunteering any information.

The FBI is here.

They want to find this killer, so do we, if we can help. Rhonda, the world

already thinks you did it.

And in the end, they have to blame somebody.

It's my job to make sure they don't blame you. As long as my clients are

suspects, I'm going to limit their remarks.

I'm trying to clear them as suspects.

We've been cooperative.

I advise you to end this interview now.

All right.

Bye, Agent Waters.

We'll call.

I would have bet money they were innocent, given a second murder.

I don't know why they keep hiding behind their lawyer.

I'm not sure they want you anymore.

We got the lab work back on Jane Lasculli.

She wasn't raped.

Neither was Melissa or any of the other girls.

What's your take on the merits?

They dragged Melissa across the country.

Putting her on display since she was six.

Take a look at these outfits.

Clearly provocative.

We could be looking at echoes of molestation.

I already checked with social services. There's nothing, not a shred of evidence

to suggest incest.

Melissa didn't really show any of the classic symptoms.

Anorexia, promiscuity.

She was very private, though.

Parents kept her on a short leash.

Which is consistent with malethic, but in and of itself, it's not enough to

prove it.

Okay, but there's still suspects.

I sent George into the VICAP database.

He's going to follow up on the peeper angle.

Okay.

That was fun, wasn't it?

Yeah, just you, me, and five dozen other people on the wall.

Those are pretty cool sneakers, Chloe.

I know.

Chloe,

I hope you don't think that those girls would like you any better just because

you have a pair of snazzy sneakers.

You know, those two girls wouldn't have come to your party no matter

how many pairs of cool shoes you had.

But the girls who did come, they came because you were here.

Now, those are your friends.

You mean, like, you and Angel are friends?

Yeah. No matter how hard it's been, Angel's always there for me, isn't she?

Because she's a real friend?

Yes, she is.

Mom, can we have a girlfriend day every week? You know, you and me?

Sure.

Peeping is a misdemeanor. So it's not recorded as a sex crime, so there's no

registry, there's no Megan's Law, nothing like that. So we have to, like,

into it using arrests for trespassing, and they number in the thousands.

Look for a pattern that escalates. You know, someone who takes more and more

risks. He starts in the car, then he gets up around the house, and breaking

entering.

More than 600 repeat offenders or convictions for prior trespassing,

entry, and quite a few rapes. Any of them use a pillowcase?

There was a rapist in L .A., actually, the pillowcase bandit, but he's in

prison, right?

Yeah, I got him here. There's only one other pillowcase connection. It's very

similar, but there's a big problem with it. Such as?

This guy's on death row in California.

We're not done.

San Diego?

Lenny Panagakos, convicted of five murders, no forced entry. He used a wet

pillowcase and put makeup on it, but he's been in prison since six months

Melissa Merritt was killed.

That's the same M .L. out of the letter?

Here are Panagakos' five victims.

They all look similar to Melissa and James Schooley.

Put them up as well.

There's got to be a connection from San Diego to New Jersey.

It was a house painted by trade. He did the interiors.

So there'd be fingerprints.

But he maintains his innocence.

I'm going to talk to him.

You recognize these girls, Lenny?

Yeah, I watched them.

The court seems to disagree.

You were convicted of five counts of murder.

I watched them, that's all. I didn't kill nobody.

Okay.

You only watched them.

Tell me how you did that.

First, I painted the houses.

When you do that, nobody sees you.

But you get to see everything. Go anywhere.

If I wanted to see more, I'd make an itsy -bitsy hole in a shade or curtain.

So I could come back and watch at night from outside.

Just these five girls?

No, lots of girls. Lots of them.

Did you only like girls with brown hair?

All kinds.

Sometimes if I really liked a girl, I'd go in and visit.

Then what would you do?

I'd keep really quiet.

Stand in the corner.

Listen to him sleep, see him turn over.

Smell them.

You said sometimes you'd go in if you liked a girl.

Why did you visit some girls and not others?

I only liked the ones that didn't wear their PJs, but showed their skin.

I'd like to believe you, Lenny, but it doesn't add up.

You watched all five girls.

You went in their rooms.

But you didn't touch any of them.

If you didn't, then who did? A friend?

No, I never had time for friends.

How did you get inside?

You know, bedroom door, but sometimes a front.

Did you get a key?

No key.

Just a little putty under the striker plate, and you file down the bolt on the

end.

Then press away from the jam and jiggle. It's easy.

These are the doors of Melissa Merritt's bedroom.

Said somebody's doing the same thing Lenny used to do months after he's been

locked up.

Somebody watched him, followed him, learned from him.

He's now repeating the crime in New Jersey.

The back doors of the club where Jane Lester Cooley's body was found is the

same. It's pretty subtle.

The file boat looks like regular wear and tear.

The putty is not visible.

The question is who else knows this trick besides a man already on death

Hey. The killings in New Jersey are similar, but not identical to the ones

San Diego.

Three of the women were found in bed, two on the floor.

Two of them were at a vanity.

Yeah, and also, according to Lenny, the women in San Diego slept naked.

Rhonda Merritt told me that her daughter never did.

So the killer removed her nightgown, and he also undressed James Schooley.

Exactly. He's becoming more aggressive, more comfortable with killing. He now

changes the scene to fit his psychopathology. He wants them naked,

vulnerable. He was probably there the night Lenny got busted. He got scared.

when the same thing didn't happen to him, his compulsion surfaced. He's now

looking for his own victims. What kind of man are we looking for?

That woman very low top of theme.

He was probably rejected at one point in his life by a woman who looked like

these girls. Same hair, same height, same kind of beauty.

He's drawn to that beauty, but now he wants to destroy it. These kinds of

killers usually videotape or photograph their victims.

Okay, what's the word from San Diego?

San Diego cops ran down any possible accomplices for Panagakos. He had a few

drinking buddies. He made the usual contacts in the building trades, but

who's moved to New Jersey since.

Accomplices is the wrong word.

Lenny works alone.

That's what he says.

It's a classy voyeur.

It's not a team sport.

So, another theoretical voyeur.

Watch Lenny's MO. Then when Lenny wasn't there, he let himself in.

Kill the girls.

Exactly. I don't think that this guy kills every time, either. He's

Like Lenny, he likes to watch, stretch it out. He's very selective.

How about another tackle?

We know he would have had to be in a position to observe Lenny.

Maybe he's using the same cover in New Jersey.

What commonalities are there for all seven killings?

Best we have is five out of seven houses got painted. In San Diego, by Lenny

Panagakos. He's behind bars.

Well, we still have Melissa.

Something that she knew or did made her a perfect victim for him.

Once we find out what that was, we'll find him.

Hi. Hello.

Mrs. Merritt, thank you so much for seeing me. I, uh... Look, I know that

is a bit odd. I'm just going to cut right at the chase.

I got the feeling that you wanted to tell me something the other day, but

you couldn't because your husband and lawyer were in the room. I know what

people are saying.

They think we used Melissa, that we killed her because we were angry that

quit the pageant, that we wanted her prize money.

That's not true.

Did you know that there are rumors that...

Your husband sexually abused your daughter?

That's just people talking.

I never heard such things until after Melissa was gone.

Tuscan and Melissa were very close, but... This is Melissa's diary.

It was personal, and I didn't want the police to have it.

Maybe you can find something in there that will help.

Thank you.

I will try to... to protect your daughter's privacy.

Thank you.

Chloe get to sleep okay?

No. She's really upset that those two little girls didn't come to her party.

I know.

She'll be all right.

Yeah, you know, that sort of thing never happened to me. I mean, I was never

worried about being popular.

That's because books were your best friend.

That's true.

I mean, I'm glad that Chloe is really outgoing, you know, gregarious, but I

don't want her to feel like she has to do cartwheels to get people to like her,

you know?

She's going to be all right.

I am going to go to sleep.

And take a nice long bath.

Good morning. Good night.

Night.

George, can you scan these pages for me, please? Sure. Just take me a second.

This is Melissa's diary.

This first excerpt we're going to read is about a month before she was

I'm so sick of the same old stories at the mall, but Mother always picks out

best stuff.

So she started with an honest feeling, and then she edited herself to say

something flattering about her mother.

She probably figured her mother would read it. Exactly. This next one was two

weeks later.

I can't stop thinking about the poem and what it said.

Beauty is truth, truth, beauty.

It's John Keats, the poet.

Yeah, it's an introspective poem about the true nature of beauty. Something had

happened to Melissa. Something was making her reflect on her life. This

was about a week later.

I did something for myself today that nobody would ever care about, and it

better than all the rest.

Trish Lambert was right. She no longer had any interest in these pageants.

Now, these photographs were taken about the same time as the last two excerpts

were written. Now, look how relaxed she looks.

Roger, first name Swan.

On the back.

Let's find out who the hell Roger Swan is.

I don't know if Melissa's parents murdered her or not, but I

do know they killed her spirit.

By pushing her into beauty pageants?

From what we hear, she was eager to compete at a young age.

How much independent thinking does a six -year -old do?

They influenced her, you can be sure, from the minute she was born.

making her something they thought would make them happy. It was always about

them. But not with you, right?

You were good to her.

Very.

Melissa and I shared a common love for the piano.

I was giving her lessons, but Melissa had to work at it.

It wasn't a natural gift like her beauty or even her dancing talent.

Parents couldn't understand it's better to love something than to be good at it.

But she didn't have a piano, did she?

She certainly did.

She bought it herself.

She wanted to play for years.

but her parents discouraged it.

They felt her time was better spent on winning ribbons.

There's no piano in the house.

They must have sold it after she died or gave it away.

Roger Swan has no criminal record. He's never been in San Diego.

Roger Swan told us about Melissa's love for the piano. Pianos are the

connection.

Lenny admitted to watching scores of girls in San Diego.

The first victim...

Had a piano.

See if there are any credit card charges or checks from Melissa or Jane Lasculi

to piano dealers, movers, or tuners.

Okay, both Jane Lasculi and Melissa used the same piano tuner, Haraway Piano

Tuning.

What's his name? Let me pull up his New Jersey DMV.

Robert Haraway.

Last known address, San Diego.

I'll bet he tuned the first victim's piano in San Diego, caught Lenny in the

act, and then he became Lenny's shadow.

Are we saying this guy Haraway never picked in his life, and all of a sudden

not only starts piggybacking Lenny's habits, but takes it further to killing?

Yes.

Voyeurism has an element of cowardice inherent in it. This guy probably didn't

have enough courage to satisfy his urges until he came across Lenny.

He didn't have to take the initiative. He didn't have to rig a door.

Every house that he'd gone to, Lenny was there before him.

So then Lenny was imprisoned. Haraway came to New Jersey. He's growing. He

becomes more confident. Now he chooses his own victims.

When did Haraway open up shop in Basking Ridge?

Well, he only got his New Jersey driver's license in 96.

Two weeks after Lenny was arrested.

Yeah, sure.

Melissa, Jane, there's a number of tapes of all the victims.

A lot of names we don't even know.

There's a shopping list.

You had a two o 'clock appointment, but nothing after that.

Get some agents over to his last appointment.

I'm back.

There's six tapes of Melissa, five of Jane, and three of the first victim in

Diego. So why is he killing the ones he's killing?

Somewhere in these tapes is the next girl on his list.

All the tapes are ID'd by first names only.

This one says Janet.

Someone must have spooked them.

This one's got Gene on it.

This guy's a piano tutor.

People would trust him. They have no reason not to. He could move around

homes.

Giving them the opportunity to rig their doors so we can come in later.

Hell of a way to pay back trust.

So that always taped Gina's house from the inside.

Not the outside.

Jane was schoolie.

Bailey, all of the women who have been taped from the inside are dead.

Except this one, Gina.

She's the next victim.

How do we find her with only a first name?

We don't even know if she's in Basking Ridge.

She's playing Kawhi Upright, John.

No, that's... Okay, Kawhi Upright.

Tune last month to Gina Braziano.

Best big guy, let her go!

Yeah? All right.

We're going to get you out of here.

I'm dead.

It's going to be okay.

Finally, Melissa's parents have been cleared.

And Lenny will get the help that he needs.

That Haraway sure is an endorsement for blind piano tuners.

John.

I'm sorry. Pretend I didn't say that.

Jen. Yeah.

This just came.

It's packaged the same way Jack shipped the self -portrait.

You want me to do the honors?

It's been checked, right? MRI and X -ray when I get up.

Not counting the sick messages inside.

How do you know I'd open the box?

These are all of Jack's victims.

The sinner, you, and Sharon Lesher.

What became of this?

What's this?

I guess I'm the scalpel.

I'm the clown.

How do you figure that?

Point and click.

Careful, Bill.

Jack is a skeleton.

We should only be so lucky.

Sent us a computer disk.

Directions to play the game?

I'm his life.

He's challenging us to a game.

We win, we get Sharon, we lose.

Vic, it's you.

Let's play.

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